The Ice Prince
by Silver Miko
Summary: Co-written with Sephiress- Known as the Ice Prince, pro skater Shinomori Aoshi needs a new partner, but doesn't necessarily want one and one Makimachi is suggested for the role. Can Misao melt the Ice Prince?
1. The Prince and the Partner

Author's Notes: A fic written by not one but two authors!

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

The Ice Prince

By Silver Miko and Sephiress

Chapter 1: The Prince and the Partner

The snow fell softly onto the busy Tokyo streets as icy blue eyes watched from the window of a small café.

"Aoshi-san, are you listening?"

He turned his attention back to the woman with long black hair and maroon eyes who was dressed in a red jacket and skirt suit.

"What did you say?" he asked, sipping at his cup of green tea.

"I said, I think I may have an idea as to who could be your new partner." she murmured.

Takani Megumi and Shinomori Aoshi were not lovers, but partners. In ice skating. Having been partners for five years, they had earned a reputation for their grace and good looks. Now, Megumi was retiring at the age of twenty-one because she was getting married to her long-time boyfriend, Sagara Sanosuke, a hockey player.

Aoshi had congratulated his partner, and had thought he could merely go back to singles skating, but both Megumi and their coach, Seijuro Hiko, had said otherwise.

He didn't want another partner, he really hadn't wanted one to begin with. Not that Megumi wasn't a terrific skater, he just...preferred to work alone. They looked in synch and that they were good partners, but both knew Aoshi preferred to work alone.

"And who is this girl who think should be my new partner?" he asked, not caring.

"She's a novice, up-and-coming, but she shows a lot of potential."

"But.?" Aoshi asked, sensing there was more than what she was saying.

Megumi sighed.

"Just go check her out."

Aoshi sighed.

"What's her name?"

"Makimachi Misao."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Skating across a small pond, a petite girl dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt twirled around. Her blue-black hair which was braided with messy bangs in her face. She hummed to herself as she twirled and looped and jumped around the ice, only to stumble and fall.

"Ow! Darn...I thought I'd get that triple loop down."

She sighed, picking herself up off the ice.

"Misao-chan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Misao spun around and saw a tall brunette dressed in a gold kimono.

"Okon-chan, what?" she asked, looking at her tall cousin.

"Okina wants you to come back inside now for lunch."

Misao sighed and skated to the edge of the pond.

"Haaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"

Reaching the small makeshift bench, Misao grabbed her backpack and took off her ice skates and put her sneakers back on and followed Okon back to the Aoiya, the restaurant owned by her grandfather, Okina.

Okon's kimono was part of her hostess routine, giving the Aoiya a traditional feel. The Aoiya, which had been in business for generations, was quite the popular restaurant and famous for its large selection of exotic teas.

Okina and the others had often tried to get Misao to give up on skating and work at the restaurant. But her love for the ice was impenetrable. She had been skating ever since she had received a pair of figure skates for her sixth birthday.

"Misao-chan, you should wear warmer clothes when you skate", her other female cousin, Omasu, stated when Misao sat down at the table. She frowned at Misao's rosy cheeks and red-tipped nose.

"Hai, Hai, Omasu-chan.", Misao replied and proceeded to eat the bowl of miso soup that had been placed in front of her.

The young figure skater finished her lunch quickly, in hopes of getting back out to the ice. Misao jumped up as soon as she was done, placed her dishes by the other dirty stack and was about to rush out the door.

"Makamachi Misao, you get back in here!"

Misao groaned at Okon's command, knowing she wasn't going to get back outside for a while.

"It's your shift in the restaurant. Don't think that you don't have to work at all missy." Misao sighed and nodded her head, knowing her older cousin was right. She may hate working as a waitress, but Okon and Omasu needed her help. So Misao trudged upstairs to change into her uniform kimono.

Misao's room was a usual clutter, skate equipment and clothes littering the floor. She searched her closet for a kimono to wear and selected a pale green one with white flowers and a white obi. Her hair came out of its usual braid and went up into a more sophisticated bun with chopsticks. When Misao was finally ready, instead of going downstairs to meet her cousins, she looked up at the posters that decorated her room, all of them consisting of the same dark-haired man.

"Aoshi-sama", she breathed, called the man by her nickname for him. "When am I going to get out of here. Will I ever be able to live my dream? Will I ever skate like you, Aoshi-sama?"

Her ocean blue eyes looked up at the poster, as though expecting it to have an answer to her problems. But all she received was the cold stare of her ideal skater. His face was taut in concentration as he had been staking across the ice, not aware of the cameras that had been snapping him. The slim, beautiful woman next to him was positioned in the same posture, the grace of the pair evident even in the picture.

Misao sighed, knowing she would never be good enough to reach his status. But she could dream…

"MIIIIISAO!!!"

The small woman snapped out of her daydreams and dashed out of the room, leaving her dreams aside for another day.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Aoshi stood outside the public skating rink, dress in black pants, a black button up shirt, a long beige trench coat, and dark sunglasses. He was waiting for his coach, and growing impatient.

It was ten am, too early for even Hiko to be dri...

Or not.

Aoshi sighed.

He didn't have time for this. He didn't need a partner, he had worked well enough alone. His skill was what HAD given him a name: Shinomori Aoshi, a skating prodigy at age ten who spent the past twelve years honored as one the best skaters in the world. But everyone seemed to want him to be tied down with a partner, and now a novice.

At least Megumi had been pro when they were partnered.

Finally seeing the tall man approaching, Aoshi furrowed his brows. Hiko was wearing khaki cargo pants and a grey hooded sweatshirt, his hair messily pulled back into a pony-tail.

"You're late." Aoshi murmured.

"Yes well, I was sleeping."

Aoshi merely began walking inside with Hiko in tow. The first interesting thing they noticed was that was no one on the ice. The second thing was, there was no one there. Well, two people there.

A tall brunette was sitting in one of the seats flipping through a magazine as a petite figure skated on the ice. Hiko grinned when he saw the woman and pushed Aoshi towards the seats next to her, maneuvering so Hiko sat next to the woman. Aoshi merely sat with arms crossed as he watched the petite girl with a braid move across the ice.

She was wearing jeans and a black tee-shirt and was skating fast as the music changed, to a song she seemed familiar with. It had a fast, techo beat and Hiko watched with some interesting while quietly chatting with the woman who was identified as Okon, whereas Aoshi watched every move the girl on the ice made, wondering why she did not practice to classical music.

He always skated to classical music.

He watched her speed, it was quite fast, not nearly as fast as her own.

Her movements were good, but somewhat sloppy.

Her concentration was....her mouth was...moving? She was singing along to the song.

She seemed to stop doing anything like ice skating and just seemed to dance more to the song as if it wasn't on skates...

Standing up and shedding his coat, he walked towards the rink with a pair of black ice skates in his hand.

"Aoshi?" Hiko asked, but merely shook his head as Aoshi headed for the rink ansd turned his attention back to Hiko.

"Where is your friend going? And why were you guys here?"

"That guy is a pretty good skater and I'm his coach. His partner's retiring and she suggested this girl, Makimachi."

"Misao-chan?"

"Yes, your cousin's pretty good. A little rough, but has potential."

Okon laughed.

"That girl lives, breathes, and eats skating. It kind of gets us annoyed sometimes because she forgets her other responsibilities."

"It's her dream, and who knows? It may just come true." Hiko said with a grin.

Misao was so lost into skating she never noticed someone else step onto the ice as she closed her eyes and moved. She went to make a double-axle and was shocked when she felt a pair of hands slide onto her hips and catch her. Startled she looked up at her sudden partner and gasped.

"Ao..Ao..Aoshi-sama!" she blurted out, feeling her feet give out under her as she stared up at him in bewilderment.

He merely looked down at her, his eyes cold, making him live up to the nickname 'Ice Prince'.

"Get up." he said, his voice sending shivers down her spine.

She did as she asked, stumbling to her feet.

"I want you to try skating with me." he murmured.

She blinked.

"W...What? Me?"

"Yes. You. Is there another Misao here?"

She shook her head, eyes large.

Shinomori Aoshi. THE Shinomori Aoshi. She had dreamt of meeting him since the first time she saw the ten year old skate on ice, gliding across it with a grace beyond his young years.

He took her hand as they skated slowly at first, moving with speed.

"I assume you've seen my skate?"

"O..Yes." she murmured.

"We're going to try part of the routine Megumi-san and I did for last year's nationals."

"You're going to throw me into a double axle, catch me, we do triple toe loops, and finish with a death spiral."

"Very good, Misao."

They began the routine, and Misao was amazed at how fast he really did skate. She never usually had problems keeping up, suddenly she felt him pull her close and her heart beat grew louder.

Suddenly she felt herself throw high into the air and quickly shifted to the posture for a double axle. She landed as he caught her and they seperated four feet to do triple toe loops, which Aoshi completely faster than Misao, and then indeed finished with a death spiral.

When they finished, Misao was panting for breath, her legs shaking.

"Your movements are shaky and slow, your timing is off, and you wear out quickly."

Misao felt her heart almost stop, hearing her idol berate her skating.

"Well excuse me! Some of us aren't profressionals! If my skating offends you so much why did you want to skate with me?!" she asked, putting her hands on her hips.

He skated closer to her, looming over her short five-foot-one frame making her gulp.

"We'll begin practicing Monday morning. Be here at five am."

She blinked.

"What..."

"For the moment, you are my new partner."

"P...partner? Like as is skating?"

"Yes. Megumi-san is retiring. She suggested you to replace her."

"Megumi-san did?" Misao asked, thinking of the black haired woman who she often saw skating at the rink but was too shy to approach.

"She thought you were good."

"And you think I suck." she said with a sigh.

Her idol was....very cold.

"You need work. We shall see how it goes. If you have any questions I'm sure my coach has already supplied your cousin with his telephone number.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

sephiress and I would like to mention we had been working on this for weeks, I had mentioned this fic to shin a week or two ago, and was not based off or has anything to do with Zerianyu's ice skating fic.

Just making a note.


	2. Routines

Chapter 2: Routines

The sun was just falling beneath the horizon as Misao continued to dance across the frozen pond in the shadow of the Aoiya. Her visage was flushed pink from effort and her breathing was heavy, coming in pants in the cold night air. Her skin glowed with sweat, and her muscles screamed for relief from the effort they were putting out.

But Misao couldn't stop, she wouldn't stop.

What he had said, it hurt too much. Aoshi's words still echoed off the inner walls of her mind.

"Your movements and shaky and slow…"

Misao urged her legs to move faster, ignoring the pain that was shooting through her calves and quad muscles. She made sure to keep the blades of her skates absolutely precise as she took the wind up for the double axle, landing well even though Aoshi wasn't there to catch her this time.

"…your timing is off…"

She flew through the toe loops, silently berating herself when her legs began to falter and she landed not-so-smoothly on one. Misao leveled out her stance though, as she prepared for the triple axle.

"…and you wear out quickly."

But as her feet twisted to go into the difficult spin, her left leg finally cramped and Misao's feet tangled, resulting in her landing flat on her bum.

"Oww…" she whined, rubbing her sore behind as she hobbled over to the bench. Misao sat down on the frosty wood and looked over the lines her skates had made on the ice. She sighed.

She should have been happy. She should be jumping up and down in the sheer thrill that THE Shinomori Aoshi had even considered her as a possible partner. How many young skaters her age would have died for this opportunity?

But it had hurt so bad.

It had hurt to see him, Misao's very idol, look down on her with such criticizing eyes. All her life, Misao had devoted every moment to her skating, putting more effort into her passion then anyone could have imagined.

And to have all those years of work, all the progress she made, just stomped down on…

"Misao-chan?"

Misao turned around at the sound of Omasu's soft voice behind her. The brunette woman sat down next to her on the bench, handing Misao a mug of steaming cocoa, which she gratefully accepted.

"You should be getting rest Misao. You know you have your first practice with Aoshi-san tomorrow," Omasu said, watching her younger cousin sip the sweet drink.

"I know. I just wanted to get some practice in before…" her voice trailed off at the thought of her first official training with Aoshi. He wouldn't be as harsh as last time, would he?

"Hey now, don't you start worrying about something that hasn't even started yet" Omasu scooted closer to the smaller woman, hoping to bring some encouragement to her little cousin. "If anyone deserves this, it's you Misao-chan. All that work you put in is about to pay off big time, ne?"

A small smile crept up onto Misao's face at Omaus's concern.

"I just hope Aoshi-sama doesn't think I'm too under experienced and drops me."

Omasu just shook her head.

"That's not what Okon told me, from what she learned earlier today."

"Eh?"

Omasu chuckled.

"Apparently, she was talking to Aoshi-san's manager, and he said that Aoshi hadn't even considered looking for another partner besides you. The only person he would deem was you, Missy." Omasu laughed at Misao's sudden interest. "Especially since you had came so highly recommended," she added.

"H-honto ne?"

"Would I lie to you?"

"Well there was that one time…" Misao said, feigning distrust while trying not to laugh.

"Now that's the Misao-chan I know. So don't you think it's time you get inside and rest up for tomorrow? You wouldn't want to blow a first impression by being late," Omasu commented, while Misao rolled her eyes at the woman's coddling.

"Hai, hai OKAASAN."

"Hey!"

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

The blaring alarm clock disrupted Misao's dreams of skating across the rink with Aoshi as she blinked and looked at the clock.

It read 4:30 am.

She groaned, flopping onto her back in an attempt to go to sleep.

There was no reason to get up so early! Why had she set her alarm again?

She blinked again, her eyes widening as she shout out of bed and ran around her room in a hurry to get ready.

She was supposed to practice with Aoshi at 5 am!

Changing into a new pair of underwear and bra and sliding on black sweatpants and a black sweatshirt, Misao carelessly threw her hair up in a ponytail and grabbed her skates and slid into her boots. Grabbing her backpack she slung it over her shoulders as she quickly ran into the kitchen and grabbed a small bottle of orange juice and a muffin and ran out the door.

She would have to run to the bus stop and when she got there the bus had just arrived. Handing the driver change she slumped into a seat and sighed, nibbling on her muffin and drinking her orange juice. She was so tired.

She had been nervous upon sleeping, wondering with slight anxiety what practice with Aoshi was going to be like. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting of him, but in person he was a very...closed person. He didn't seem to be a warm person at all.

She frowned at that.

It was kind of like her image of him wasn't real. She always thought him to be this cool skater with a great attitude who was quiet and intelligent.

But he seemed more sullen.

Soon enough she was at the stop two blocks from the rink and she got off, throwing out her muffin wrapper and empty bottle of juice and ran towards the rink. By the time she got there it was 4:58 am and she was panting for breath.

"You're on time. That's a decent start."

She blinked and looked up to see Aoshi leaning back against the door, arms crossed.

She yawned, and followed him inside.

"Yes well, I'm not used to getting up so early." she murmured.

"How undisciplined. Most pros are up at this practicing, even earlier."

Misao furrowed her brows and rubbed her eyes.

This was going to be a loooong practice.

As she laced up her skates, she looked over to Aoshi who was on the ice waiting rather impatiently for her.

She skated towards him, stopping a foot from him.

"How do you...want to begin?" she asked, stifling a yawn.

"I should think warming up would be the ideal solution." he said flatly.

She closed her eyes and sighed.

"Right."

They warmed up, skating to stretch out their muscles for about five or ten minutes. He stopped and she skated up next to him.

"So what do you want to do?"

"The same routine I auditioned you with. I want you to get it perfect before we try any other routines."

"Okay." Misao mumbled and watched Aoshi skate over to the radio control and put a cd in as classical music began playing.

They began the routine, and at the end Misao frowned. She hadn't done it as well as Megumi-san said. She had stumbled a bit towards the end and it was clear from the cold look in Aoshi's eyes he was displeased.

"You need a lot of work." he said simply, crossing his arms.

"I'm sorry, Aoshi-sama, I was practicing for hours last night and I had trouble sleeping..."

"I don't need excuses Misao. I need you to work harder and get it right. And why do you keep referring to me as 'Aoshi-sama'?"

Misao blushed and looked away.

"I...well...I've always looked up to you...and wanted to skate like you so it just...stuck in my mind." she confessed.

If she had looked Aoshi in the face she would have noticed the brief flickering of something in his eyes, as they softened for a moment, but then hardened again.

"Well then you'll need to work a lot harder if you ever hope to skate as good as me."

Misao sighed and rubbed her eyes.

"Mou! I can't help it if my skating isn't the best at the moment! Aside from the fact that muscles keep spasming, I barely slept because I was so nervous of what terrible things you might say about me! I know I'm not a pro but at least I would think you wouldn't be so harsh on me! I'm trying the best I can!"

Aoshi looked at her and closed his eyes.

"Are you done?"

"Excuse me?" Misao asked, her face red.

He skated towards her and picked her up, hauling her over his shoulder and skating towards the locker rooms.

"Aoshi-sama! What are you doing?!" she screeched when he stopped and unlaced his skates, Misao still in his hold, and walked into the men's locker and tossed her into an empty shower stall.

"Aoshi-sama, what the hell! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!" she screeched when cold water sprayed all over her.

"I don't have time for blow-ups and tantrums. If you insist on childish behavior I will physically make you cool off."

"It's FREEZING! STOP!!!" she yelled, shivering, completely soaked.

"Are you done now?" he asked again.

"Yes!" she yelped, trying stand, which was difficult while wearing ice skates.

He turned off the water and grabbed a towel handing it to her.

"I'll wait for you to change."

"Change? These were the only clothes I had!!"

Aoshi actually blinked at that.

Only...clothes?

"You didn't bring a change?"

"Why would I?!"

He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose and pulled her out of the shower and set it to a warmer temperature and turned the water back on.

"Take off your clothes."

"Excuse me?!" Misao asked, eyes wide.

"Take them off and take a warm shower. I'll put your clothes in the dryer."

She blinked.

"Oh. Turn around."

He respected her wishes and turned around as he heard wet fabric shift, and saw her clothes tossed on the floor by his side. She got into the shower and pulled the curtain closed.

"How long will my clothes take to dry?" she asked, happy to have the warm water spray onto her.

"Forty minutes."

"Shoot....what am I supposed to do for clothes until then?"' she grumbled and Aoshi sighed.

"I'm sure a towel will do for now."

"Oh yes, because I really want to walk around _you_ with just a towel on right this moment."

Aoshi sighed again. He wasn't used to it, to facing such obstination and resistance. He wasn't used to having his partner have a fit. He was used to being the dominant skater in a pair.

"Just…take your shower now. I'll be back," he said, feeling a headache coming on. Aoshi grabbed Misao's wet clothes and made his way out of the showers and to the dryer, silently wondering what he had gotten himself into with this new girl.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Forty minutes later, Aoshi was walking back to the locker room, with Misao's dry and folded clothes in hand. He had passed the time on the rink, trying to think up a new routine they could use at their first competition.

But it was so much more complicated now that he had a new partner.

Megumi had always been so easy to work with. She had more than enough skill to stay with him, and always let him be the guide.

And now…

He sighed in exasperation.

Things weren't going to be so easy anymore.

Aoshi didn't even bother to knock as he walked back into the shower room, noting the steam that had filled the room and fogged up the mirrors. The pitter-patter of water on tile reached his ears and he saw the shadow of Misao resting on the wall of the shower.

'She was probably too embarrassed to come out,' he inferred.

He was about to make his presence known, when Misao's shadow moved and, her hand turned the knob to shut off the water.

Aoshi's mind was blank as her outline moved to the side of the curtain and a glossy, wet arm came out to grab the towel he had hung on the rack for her. The arm then disappeared behind the curtain with the towel and a moment later, out came…

"Mi-Misao."

At the sound of his stutter, Misao, only wrapped in the towel, turned around and faced Aoshi, shock written over her face as well as a pink flush from both embarrassment and the heat of the shower.

His mind told him he needed to look away, but Aoshi stood stock still, his eyes roaming over her scantily-clad form. Misao had taken her hair out of its customary braid and let it fall loose around her small frame. The black silken strands clung to her, while translucent beads of water made slow trails over her pearly skin. At the moment, Aoshi's eyes were currently entranced by a particular drop that was slithering over her chest and down into the valley between her hidden breasts.

Who knew that under all those clothes…

"Um, Aoshi-sama?"

Misao's shy voice pulled him out of his ogling trace and Aoshi turned his head away, suddenly finding the tiles of the shower room fascinating.

"Here," he said in a forced monotone, handing Misao her now dry clothes.

"Uh, arigatou…Aoshi-sama."

He turned away from Misao to give her some privacy, noticing how much the young woman had flushed under his stare.

"I'll be on the ice, so hurry up," he said walking away without a second glance. "We still have a lot of work to do."

"Hai, hai," Misao replied as he closed the door to the shower room on his way out.

For a second, Misao stood motionless, wondering what had just occurred between her and her new partner. She wasn't blind and hadn't missed the flush that had adorned his face as he tore his gaze from her.

Did that mean… Did he think she was…sexy?!

A naughty grin appeared on Misao's face and she attempted to hide the laughter that was bubbling up.

Maybe being this new partner deal wouldn't be so bad.


	3. Closer

Chapter 3: Closer

Sighing from frustration, Aoshi set down the book he had been reading and took off his thinly rimmed reading-glasses. His hand came up to rub the bridge of his nose as he reached for the glass of warm green tea on the small table by his chair.

Tea always calmed him.

Aoshi took a sip from the soothing liquid and relished the feeling of it going down his throat. A sigh of satisfaction came from his throat and he set the teacup down again.

He'd been drinking a lot of tea as of late. And with the way things had been going with Misao, it was no surprise.

Aoshi groaned at the mere memory of his frustrating partner.

If they weren't skating, the pair would be arguing; or a combination of both. Sometimes Misao was just too difficult to work with. She always gave him so much grief whenever he tried to correct her skills.

Not that she was a bad skater, Misao just needed to be refined into something with more finesse.

'Like Megumi?' his mind questioned.

No, not like Megumi.

Megumi had been an easy partner to work with, as she was very content with being backseat to Aoshi's decisions. But she had lacked the passion to truly skate with him. Megumi had never thrown her entire will into skating.

She had never had shown the determination Misao did.

That was one thing Aoshi could admire about Misao, her undying love for skating. Whenever her feet graced over the ice, the young woman seemed to glow under his very gaze. He would watch as she closed her eyes softly and let the rush come up and consume her willingly. She clearly loved the sport just as much as he did.

Nevertheless, love for the ice was not enough. Misao needed work if they were to continue to skate together. And she needed to realize that he was undeniably more experienced then her, and respect him because of that.

Aoshi groaned again, feeling his headache coming back again from thinking this over so much.

"Aoshi-sama? Is something wrong?"

Aoshi turned his blue gaze up where his butler, Hannya, stood in the doorway of the library, clearly having heard Aoshi's frustrated noises.

"I'm fine, Hannya, just a headache coming on."

"Would you like me to bring you an aspirin and water, Aoshi-sama?" the older man asked, voicing his concern.

"Aa." Aoshi replied. And then a thought struck him.

"Hannya," he voiced before his butler could turn to the kitchen for the aspirin. "Could you bring me my laptop and cell phone as well? I've got something to take care of."

"Of course, Aoshi-sama," Hannya said with a short bow of respect before going off to retrieve Aoshi's things.

Sinking back into his leather chair, Aoshi closed his eyes and tried to relax once again. An idea had just come to him, and whether Misao liked it or not, she was about to become a lot more involved in their skating.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Sunday was now officially Misao's favorite day of the week, because it meant no screaming alarm clock waking her before 4:30. Aoshi had informed her that they did not practice on Sundays, as it was their one day a week to recharge and leisurely practice on their own time.

It also meant that the following Monday would usually be hellicious, but right about now, Misao was too preoccupied to care.

The small woman buried herself even more beneath her comforter as the sun's rays shone through her window and attempted to rile her from her much deserved sleep.

'Not today, Mr. Sun. Nothing is going to get me out of bed today,' she thought with a smirk.

"MISAAAOOOOOOOOOOOO!" came the roaring voice of her grandfather, who despite his age, still had enough lung power to quake the house.

'Oh can't the world leave me alone!' she thought angrily. Misao grabbed her pillow and flung it over her head, in hopes that whatever Jiya needed could be taken care of later.

However, it wasn't meant to be, as she heard the sound of her door being thrown open and footsteps growing closer.

"Up and at 'em Misao-chan. Someone's here to see you!" her grandfather said all-too cheerfully.

A groan came from beneath the pillows as Misao lifted up her blankets and asked,

"What insane person would want to see me this early!"

"I would," came a voice from behind the grinning form of Okina.

Misao rubbed her groggy eyes at the familiar voice and nearly gasped when she opened them and saw Aoshi's figure standing in the doorway. He looked all too good in those tight black jeans, deep violet shirt and leather jacket, or at least Misao thought so.

"And it's not even that early Misao, so get up," came the arrogant voice of her partner, and suddenly Misao remembered why she disliked him so much. She saw out of the corner of her eye, Okina backing out from the door, sensing the danger about to erupt.

"Aoshi- sama…" she said all too sweetly while rising up on her bed, causing the tall man to raise his eyebrow at the small woman in blue pajamas.

"Get the hell out of my room!"

Aoshi narrowed his eyes slightly at her shrill cry, stepping closer and pulling the covers off the bed. He was not going to tolerate this. She should be up earlier and kept disciplined.

"Get up, we have somewhere to go." he said, grabbing her arm and lightly dragging her out of bed.

He was met with a kick in the side.

"No need to get violent!" she huffed, slowly sliding out of bed and watching with amusement as Aoshi rubbed his side.

"Interesting form. Kenpo?"

"Yes." Misao said, walking to her closet and grabbing jeans and a zip up hooded sweatshirt.

Aoshi politely turned around while Misao changed, and could hear the almost tantalizing whisper of fabric drop to the ground and hear her shift as she moved.

His mouth went dry.

He was in her room, her personal space, on her day off. He wondered how she would react to what he had in store for her. He had taken the time and sense to tell the news to her grandfather, who after a few words of warning had agreed.

"I'm ready, Aoshi-sama, and this better be DAMNED important to interrupt my sleep." she grumbled as she followed him out of her room and down the stairs.

He frowned at her as they reached his car.

"You should have been up hours ago. You need more discipline, Misao."

She rolled her eyes and got into the metallic black sports car as they drove off towards the more rich part of town into the heart of Juuban.

"Aoshi-sama...where exactly are we going?"

"You'll see." he murmured, eyes obscured by the dark black sunglasses he wore.

Misao sighed, leaning back in the plush leather car seat and looked out the window and the rich houses and nice lawns. She figured Aoshi lived around there, the rich part of the city. Probably in a large house, but all alone. He really seemed like kind of a loner. Unless he had servants. Either way, he was called the Ice Prince for a good reason.

The car stopped in front of a large apartment complex that had a beautiful gold gated entrance and Aoshi got out of the car and Misao followed. They walked inside and Misao blinked, wondering why they were here. She was sure Aoshi lived in a house, so why were they at an apartment complex? They reached the elevator and went up to the tenth floor, where she followed Aoshi out to the corner apartment door, number 1002, and watched him pull out a key and open the door. She followed him inside and blinked at the rather empty apartment.

"Aoshi-sama, is this your apartment?" she asked.

"No."

"Then why are we..."

"It's yours."

She stopped, blinking.

"My...what?"

"Your apartment. I bought it last night. I live just around the corner and it would make things easier if you lived close by."

"...Are you INSANE!" she yelled, crossing her arms.

He almost blinked.

"Excuse me?"

"You cannot just...buy me an apartment like it's nothing and...are you insane! I mean I can't move in here! What about Jiya..."

"He approves. I asked his permission."

"He...GYAHH!" Misao stammered, closing her eyes and now fuming.

Aoshi sighed.

"I don't see what the problem is. You'd be living here for free and it's closer to me and the rink."

"Why did you...was it THAT difficult that I didn't live so close!"

"Yes. I want you closer to me." he said, his voice deep.

The way his eyes seemed to...flicker with something, turn warmer somehow, made Misao almost forget why she was mad. Almost.

"So you will be moving in as soon as possible," Aoshi said business-like, the former warmth evaporating from his voice. He turned his back to her and moved to scope out the rest of the apartment while Misao stood shell-shocked again from his words.

Perhaps it was a good thing Aoshi had walked into the next room, as the vein above Misao's eye began to tick rapidly.

"Aoshi…sama…" she grit out, her teeth grinding in frustration as she followed him.

Grant you, it was a large apartment, and Misao had always wanted to begin life on her own. And he had indeed gone through all the trouble to buy this for her…

But it was the high-handedness that would come to a screeching stop.

Aoshi turned to her when Misao entered the room, her fists clenched at her sides and a most menacing look on her face.

His eyebrow raised, and Misao sworn she could have heard a sigh come from his mouth.

"What's wrong now, Misao?" he asked, annoyance clear in his voice.

Her eyes widened at his tone. How…how dare he speak to her like that! Like she was some child he had to baby-sit. Misao growled and made her way up to her partner.

"Listen you," she said, tilting her head up to look right into Aoshi's ice-chipped eyes. "I've dealt with my share of egotistical, testosterone-driven assholes before…but you, mister, certainly put them to shame."

"What-" Aoshi began, before Misao put her finger on his mouth and stopped anymore.

"No, I don't want to hear it," she said, her eyes alight with anger and passion. "When we first skated together, you had said I would be your new partner. You know what partner means, Aoshi-sama? It means we work together, as EQUALS, not as master and assistant."

"I-"

"Yes, Aoshi-sama. I'm telling you that this isn't working," Misao said, removing her finger from his face and running her hand through her hair in frustration.

'She's not…dumping me. Would she?' his mind asked at her exasperated words. Then he'd be partner less and have to skate on his own again.

So why did that bother him so much now? Why did he want her to stay so much?

He'd always wanted to be alone…but…

But...he was used to having her skating by his side. He was used to her attitude, her voice, her annoyed expressions. In the short time working together...he had believed it could actually work between them.

Skating-wise of course.

He glanced over at her and she seemed to be calming down, and then a strange smirk was on her lips.

It worried him.

"Well Aoshi-sama, since you set this up I'm sure you wouldn't mind moving my stuff in for me."

"Aa, I can arrange.."

"No no. You yourself will physical do it."

He blinked and looked at her.

She couldn't possibly..

"Don't give me that look. You're a strong man, it shouldn't be a problem. Unless its too much for a rich boy to do some labor?"

His eyes narrowed and he stalked towards her, causing her to back up against the wall.

He slapped his hands on the wall on either side of her head and bent foward to glare down at her.

"You try my patience, Misao." he murmured, his face close.

Her eyes widened, and Aoshi's eyes darkened a shade. Something was forming in the air between, a thick tension...

Aoshi pushed himself away from her.

"I will assist you after practice. Let's get you home." he murmured and Misao followed, unsure of what it was that had just transpired.

He had been so close...

And she had had the urge to reach up and brush his hair out of his face, just to touch him.

She had a feeling something was brewing, but not sure if it was a good thing or not.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX


End file.
